Heather Perkins is a partner in Faegre Baker Daniels' litigation and advocacy group.  Her practice focus on litigation and advising in franchise and distribution, trade secret, antitrust and complex commercial matters.  She has first-chair experience litigating cases from inception through appeal on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants in federal and state proceedings, as well as in arbitration and mediation.

Her litigation experience includes:

• Won a substantial jury verdict in favor of an Internet company against competitor engaged in an online sabotage campaign.
• Defended national company to summary judgment in high-profile case alleging company negligently entrusted a vehicle to an elderly driver.
• Secured temporary restraining order prohibiting franchisee from selling franchised locations in an attempt to evade covenant not to compete in franchise agreement.
• Defeated motion seeking temporary restraining order and injunction against product manufacturer on claims of trademark infringement, trade secret appropriation and unfair competition.
• Won a preliminary injunction enforcing covenant not to compete against former franchisee, ordering the franchisee to cease using franchisor's trade name and service marks, and ordering the return of the franchisor's proprietary information.
• Defended energy company to dismissal in a putative antitrust class action brought by would-be suppliers against multiple energy companies and a supplier.
• Defended international engineering firm in a trade secret and tortious interference case involving software for network monitoring and fault management to a defense jury verdict.
• Defended airline in a nationwide antitrust class action brought by travel agents over the airlines' reduction and eventual elimination of commissions paid to travel agents, in which summary judgment in defendants' favor was affirmed by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Defended airline to dismissal in class action brought by travel agents opting out of Fourth Circuit class action.
• Defended national insurance company to dismissal of antitrust claims and summary judgment on consumer protection and tortious interference claims, which were affirmed on appeal.
• Defended national insurance company to dismissal of putative class action which was affirmed on appeal.

Clerkships

Presentations

• Avoiding Ethical Pitfalls With Former Employees in Litigation
  Faegre & Benson Complex Litigation Summit (2010)
• Availability and Provability of Damages in Franchise Litigation.
  Co-Presenter, International Franchise Association (2010)
• The 5 Most Frequently Filed Lawsuits Against Franchisors — And How to Avoid Them
  International Franchise Association Legal Symposium (2008)

Legal Updates

• Franchisor Liability for Acts of the Franchise, co-author
  Franchise Law Journal, Winter 2010